Westside Digest

Beverly Hills : Theater Lot, Alley Closed

The City Council approved a request by CSL Realty Advisors Inc. to close a portion of an alley and a parking lot behind the Beverly Theater to prepare for the theater's demolition.

The demolition was unsuccessfully opposed by preservationists who wanted the city to restore the historic Wilshire Boulevard building.

Closure of the alley and the parking lot is needed to ensure the safety of pedestrians and to give demolition crews a place to park their trucks and equipment, city officials said. Workers have already removed the theater's seats, curtains, chandeliers and other fixtures. Columbia Savings & Loan, which owns the theater, plans to construct a three-story office building with underground parking at the site.

Shortly after it bought the theater last year, Columbia Savings & Loan agreed to a request by preservationists that the city be given time to consider buying the property and preserving the theater, which opened in 1931. But a City Council committee concluded last month that the city could not afford the $23 million to take over and renovate the building.